Issue: Volume: 23 Issue: 6 (June 2000)

SPOTLIGHT: Muse Adds More Voice to Visualization



The software's target markets are the automotive, manufacturing, oil and gas, aerospace, and medical imaging industries. Muse offers users in these fields a powerful, scalable way to view complex data sets, either on desktops or in immersive environments. Collaboration can take place either over a local-area network or an Internet connection.

The new version, which also features enhanced multiscreen display, collaboration, and interface capabilities, enables both software programmers and end users to make better use of sound, including voice command and speech synthesis, while operating in visualized environments. The software uses Microsoft's SAPI interface for speech recognition and synthesis on the Windows NT platform.

Federal Data Corp. in Pasadena, California, has been using Muse 2000 to visualize solar and space environment models created with its own programs. "Muse 2000 handles an incredible amount of data," says Cal Leuning, FDC's marketing and virtual solutions director. The new version is brighter, clearer, and faster, he reports. His team has also been making use of the software's improved voice and collaborative capabilities. "We could do these models without Muse, but not with the same clarity, he says. "Muse can handle all this data and turn it back into the world we live in."

The Muse Software Development Environment costs $15,000 for a Windows NT version, and $22,000 for an entry-level (single-pipe) Unix version. (Muse Technologies; Albuquerque, NM: 800-711-3899; www.musetech.com)-JD